A MAN caught up in the Mecca tent fire tragedy today applauded the efficiency of the Saudi Arabian authorities for preventing an even worse disaster.

Blackburn van driver Shahid Iqbal claimed the death toll would have been worse if people had not acted so quickly, adding: "I could so easily have been one of the dead."

Shahid, 26, who works for the Blackburn branch of car maintenance company ATS, saved £2,500 to make the Muslim pilgrimage to the holy city where 340 people lost their lives in a freak fire which engulfed thousands of tents.

He said: "I was probably about a mile away from the centre of the blaze and could see the smoke.

"After about half an hour we were told to evacuate the area.

" I was not too frightened and I think my fire training at school in Lancashire probably helped me to keep calm." About 1,000 people from East Lancashire are thought to have made the annual pilgrimage.

The fire was blamed on exploding canisters of cooking gas used by pilgrims.

Most of the dead were trampled underfoot and thousands left stranded by the blaze.

The fire struck as the vast army of Muslims gathered for the pilgrimage were beginning to move to the plains of Mount Arafat.

The tents, pitched close together, were engulfed by flames fanned by heavy winds and 104 degree temperatures.

They were brought under control after several hours by firemen backed by helicopters.

Shahid, who travelled with his mum, had been saving up for eight months to make the pilgrimage.

He added: "Despite what happened it was still a magnificent trip. It has not put me off wanting to return. It is a chance in a lifetime."

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